Holidays of Choice

This is the season that really reminds me how many choices we have in life. Choices concerning everything, from decisions about the not so important (cherry red, fire engine red, cranberry, crimson, or GA Bulldog red wrapping paper ?), to the moderately important (the $5 earrings or the $15 earrings for Cousin Sue?), to the legitimately paramount (How can I show my family and my community that I care? How can I live my life in the generous and loving spirit of the holiday season all year?)

All the decisions we expressly make during the holiday season can make us feel busy and stressed out. We are reminded both that we live in a world with tremendous abundance and in a world where our caring and generosity are needed as much as ever. To me, the true spirit of the holiday season lies in understanding both, and in making the myriad of decisions I have to make according to my values.

And like many of life's trials and life's lessons, these thoughts bring me back to how I view the Women's Rights movement in our country. In regards to the independence and treatment of women, we have so much to be thankful for and have come immensely far, yet we have plenty of work to do and battles to wage in 2008 that seem like they should have been settled decades ago. We live in abundance, but our energy and dedication to women's health are needed as much as ever.

Choice, as we know it in the movement, is not so different from the choices of paramount importance that we all make every day, particularly the ones that come to the forefront of our minds in the reflective time of the holiday season as another year ends. We move forward with our values and beliefs guiding us, to let our families and our communities know we care, and live our lives in the spirit of generosity and love.